After ten years of struggle, waking up at four or five in the morning to write before heading to her day job, Jennifer Donnelly finally found success in 2001. Three books, each targeting entirely different audiences, were accepted for publication within months of each other. The first was a picture book for young children entitled Humble Pie. Soon after, Donnelly's historical romance novel Tea Rose, which had been making the rounds for years, sold as well. If that were not accomplishment enough for a writer accustomed to rejections, her third success was most decidedly the charm. After reading only thirty pages and an outline at an auction, Harcourt Brace outbid three other presses for A Northern Light. Editors at Harcourt compared the book to beloved novels Drowning Ruth and Little Women.

Early reviews of the novel were unanimously enthusiastic. Courtney Williamson of the Christian Science Monitor deemed...